Critiques Critiques are always meant to be constructive and intended to help the writer improve the work. Every piece of writing has some things that are working and other things that need work.
Things to look for at the level of language
Evokes all five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell)
Sharp verbs (few “to be” verbs - is, was, were, are, am, be, been)
Active rather than passive constructions (“they ran” is better than “they were running”)
Details and imagery (“a burned out shack” is better than “a small building”)
Interesting word choices (“stout and irritable” is better than “short and angry”)
Consistent style and tone
Things to look for in the shape and craft of a piece of writing
Is the setting well-realized or does the scene suffer from "white room" syndrome?
Do we have a clear introduction of each important character? Are there too many characters?
Is there some sense of tension carried throughout?
Does the writing seem to start in the best place? From there, does it move to the next logical scene or action?
Is the dialogue tight and does it advance the plot, or is there too much chitchat or idle conversation?
Do characters' actions seem logical based on what the reader knows about them?
Does the story carry some meaningful theme significant to the human condition?
Is the story more than reportage ("first they did this, then they did this") and give us some insight into the perspective character?
These are just a few things to consider when critiquing a piece of fiction.
Critiques are always meant to be constructive and intended to help the writer improve the work. Every piece of writing has some things that are working and other things that need work.
Things to look for at the level of language
Things to look for in the shape and craft of a piece of writing
These are just a few things to consider when critiquing a piece of fiction.
CYBERPUNK CRITIQUES
URBAN FANTASY CRITIQUES for Vignettes #3 and #4 (x 2 each, 4 total), due Mon, 3/12 at 7:00 pm
-4
POST-APOCALYPTIC STORY CRITIQUES due Monday, 2/19 by 1:30 pm
PHANES BAY STORY CRITIQUES due Wednesday, 2/14 by 1:30 pm